Balangay Shrine Museum

Northern Mindanao


Towards the airport, at barangay Libertad, is the Balangay Shrine Museum, home to the remains of a balangay (seagoing outrigger boat) dating from 321, one of the oldest-known artefacts in the Philippines. (The word ‘barangay’ in fact derives from balangay, as the boats were big enough to move whole communities of settlers in one journey.) Unearthed a few metres away are several coffins dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. A tricycle (P50) will take you to the site.